The Producer Report: Drama
camera’s ability to discern light levels, which is why classic, The Day of the Triffids. Tiger Aspect
DoPs are excited about the F35. This new Sony meanwhile is debating whether to shoot the third
camera captures light to a 35mm-sized chip and is series of Secret Diary for ITV on the camera, but
fitted with a film-style PL Mount suitable for must find a way to do so on a DigiBeta budget.
Angenieux, Cooke or Zeiss prime lenses. “DoPs say it’s the nearest they’ve come to a film
camera but we don’t have the extra production
DIGITAL CINEMATOGRAPHY budget so we need to weigh things up,” explains
Although only recently introduced into Europe, Tiger Aspect’s Tiplady. “The cost of tape stock is
the F35 has already been busy on commercials higher. £50 for SRW-1 against £20 for HDCAM
shoots but drama producers are now exploring the may not sound much but it soon adds up. It’s
high-end of digital cinematography. Moreover, undoubtedly a better imaging format but that may
producers have the option with the F35 of demand a better HD transfer machine to feed into
recording to HDCAM SR tape or to output data an Avid which puts up the edit cost.”
to a system such as the Codex Portable. “It could High-end HD cameras tend to be around the
even supersede the F900 and become the same cost to hire as 16mm but the film stock costs
workhorse for drama,” suggests DoP Moss. versus tape are significantly higher and posting
Power and Prodigy Pictures selected the F35 for digitally avoids the hefty expense of lab processing.
their major BBC1 adaptation of the 1950s sci-fi “Top-end HD is definitely a cost saving against film
but there’s still a struggle if you pitch HD against
DigiBeta budgets at the low-end,” adds Tiplady.
AFFORDABLE TAPELESS
There are, however, other means of shaving zeroes
off the production budget while retaining HD
quality. File-based formats have already gained
widespread acceptance among factual producers but
they are increasingly common in drama, either as a
B camera or even as the main production format.
Pulse Films chose this route for its first docu-
drama, History’s Toughest Prisons, in collaboration with
National Geographic. It’s natural to assume the
broadcaster stipulated HD for this project but in fact
its specification was for SD, with Pulse taking the
initiative to shoot the entire 60 minute programme
on a PMW-EX3: “We shoot a lot of short-form and
music videos and generally use an EX1 or EX3, for
which we’ve established a great workflow,” explains
head of production Marissa Clifford. “It’s a
workflow we can manage inhouse very cost-
effectively while delivering fantastic HD quality.”
“It takes just 15 minutes to download each
memory card at the end of the day in a simple drag
Drama queen?Dramaaa queen?queen??
32 theproducer Spring 2009
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